Forming molds for shot and shell



Uivirnn STATES Farrar Ottica;

PETER L. VEIMER, OF LEBANON, FENNSYLVANIA.

FORVHNG VIOLDS FOR SHOT AND-SHELL..

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 3535212 ll, dated June :24,116672.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER L. Tamara of Lebanon, in the county of Lebanon and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Machine for Forming Molds for Casting Shot and Shell; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this myspeciiication, and to the letters of reference marked thereon-,like letters in the several figures indicating the same partse-and in which drawings* Figure l represents a vertical longitudinal section of my improved machine Fig. 2, vertical cross-section of same 5 Fig. 3, a section on line y/ y of Fig. l; Fig. 4, a view of those parts oi' the machine which immediately affect the flow of the sand into the mold or divert it therefrom; Fig. 5, a view of one half of the mold with the sand packed therein, and Fig. 6 a view of a complete mold with a shot east therein.

The object of my invention is to provide the means whereby a sand mold may be with great rapidity and effectively prepared within which to east solid shot or shell, and so that the cost of casting i a large shot or shell shall not exceed the cost of casting a small one. For this purpose I construct a machine, as represented in the drawings, which, being driven by power/7 completes almost the entire operation of forming the mold within which the shot or shell is to be cast. 'In constructing the same I iirst prepare a proper foundation, a, iirmly erecting thereon four main uprights, Z), Z), b, and b, (one of them not shown in the drawings) which are held in place by cross-beams c c c`l c3 c'L ci c, and also by crossbeams (Z, d, and d. (One of these beams also not shown inthe drawings.) To one side of and attached to this main frame I erect a minor frame, as shown, consisting of uprights b and b', (one of them not shown in the drawings,) a longitudinal beam, b3, and end cross girts 'or beams, bt. This frame is surmounted by a platform, c, of the same width andlength as the frame, and having its inner end project within the main frame, as at c.

In rear of the main frame a hoppeigj", issecured to the foundation a, for holding the sand which is to form the mold. Centrally through this hopper a pulley-shaft is secured with a pulley thereon within the hopper, which imparts motion to the elevator h, by means of which the sand is transferred from the hopper to the molds. Iower in the first instance is applied to the machine by the driving-pulley i at the top of the main frame, is thence imparted to the pulley t by means of band j, and thence to pulley by means of band j', the latter pulleyr being attached to the pulleyshaft which passes through the hopper f, and so by means of the elevator-pulley within the hopper imparting motion to the elevator h in the direction as indicated by the arrow, the band j being driven by a pulley, i, attached to shaft Z, secured in place within the main frame, as clearly shown in Figs. l and 2. Shaft Z is provided'at its inner end with a bevel cog-wheel, mi, which gears into a like wheel, a, at the -lower end of shaft Z', as seen in Fig. I. rIhis shaft Z at its upper end is provided with a circular table, p, securely attached to and revolving with the shaft, said table traveling within a circular opening in that portion of the platform` c which projects within the main frame.

Above the table p, and on a line with the vertical axis of shaft Z', a sliding shaft, Z, is situated, held in position by bearings secured midway upon the crossbeams cl e: of the main frame. A swinging yoke, I3, (clearly shown in Fig. 2,) connects the top of the sliding shaft with a hand-lever, Q, which is supported upon and attached to the cross-beam c', as also shown in said figure. A bent arm, as at r, projects from the sliding shaft Z2, and the eXtreme lower end of said shaft terminates in a cone-shaped shoulder, s, to which conical rollers s are attached by means of axial pins s2, as indicated in detached view, Fig. 5, the shoulder s being cut away at its points of contact with the inner ends of the conical rollers, so as to properly adjoin them.

In the operation of the machine the elevator h, after emptying its cups h', returns through the elevator-trough It to recharge the cups with sand. At the top of the trough lr a spout, 71,", is attached, as shown7 which delivers the sand received from the cups into the sand-flasl O, as shown in Fig. l. This spout ZL* is supported on the upper 'end of a trough, 71.", which has its lower end so attached tothe hopper f as to discharge into said hopper. A valve, t, articulating upon one arm of anV elbow-lever, c', as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, is placed within the spout h", the valve, when closed, as in Figs. 1 and 2, forming a portion of the bottom of the spout, and serving, when open, as in Fig. 4.-, to cut off the fiow of the sand from the fiask' C, and return it to the hopper through the trough 7i. A forked detent, D, is hinged in a bearing inidway of' cross-bcain c of the main frame, and having its lower prong extended so as to intersect the vertical plane of the arm r and be elevated by said arm when the shaft Z'"l rises, as will be liereinaf'ter described.

lii Figs. 1 and 2 the elbow-lever vis shown supported upon the upper prong of the detent D, thus closing the valve c,- and in Fig. et said lever is shown supported by the lower prong of the detent, the valve in such case being open.

Power being applied to the pulley l and niotion imparted to the elevator h in the direction of the arrow, the cups h rise from the hopper filled with sand previously prepared for molding, and discharge into the spout h over the roller E. rEhe elbow-lever o having previously been elevated so as to rest upon the upper prong of the detent D, as shown in Fig. 1, the sand discharged into the spout hL descends directly into the flask C, as indicated in the figure. Motion at the same time being imparted to the upright shaft Z through shaft Z and bevel-geariiig m a, the circular table p is caused to revolve in the direction of the arrow, with the sand-flask C thereon. Meantime thc sand, as it descends into the flask, is packed firmly and uniformly upon its bottom by the action of the rollers s', which constantly rotating upon their axial pins 8* as the table p and fiask C revolve distribute the sand within the area of the flask with the greatest uniformity, while at the same time the entire weight of the shaft Z2 and the parts supported by it, falling upon the sand, compacts itin themost efficient inauner. Thus the sand continuing to flow into the fiask', and being therein dis- Itributed and packed, gradually forms a firm body of constantly-increasing thickness, the rollers s and shaft Z2 constantly rising with the surface of the mass as the operation progresses, until finally the iask becomes lled, as shown in detached view at Fig. 5, at which moment the arm r, rising up against the lower prong of the detent D, releases the elbow-lever t from its support upon the upper prong of the detent, tlius opening the valve, as indicated in Fig. et, and cutting off the iiow ofthe sand into the flask, at the saine time deliecting it into the troughh, and thence into the hopper. From the position of the conical packing-rollers s, as shown in Fig. 5, said rollers are further elevatedby the operator drawing upon the rope u., attached to the leveriQ, thus readily admitting the removal of the filled sand-flask from beneath the rollers. It should be hei'e stated that for the purpose of centering7 the flask upon the table p a projection, p', at the center of the table takes77 into aproper opening or conical hole, p3, situate in the center of the cross-piece p* of the flask; and, also, that a small pin, p5, which projects from the face of the table and comes in contact with the crosspiece p4 when the flask is the position shown in Fig. 1, causes the fiask to revolve with the table in the direction indicated by the arrow in said figure.

On the platform c, at the side of the main frame and secured to the rear of the platform, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3, I attach two hangers, F F, formed to receive two liand-ii u ts, t t, fitted to work upon screw-shafts t t', which at their lower end support cap-disks t Z4, the latter being perforated, as indicated in Fig. 1. The face of these disks is armed with a centering-projection precisely like the projection p in Figs. 1 and 5, and for the same purpose. rIhe centering-projections are situated exactly over the center of' openings in the platform c, and which openings are fitted to receive and sustain rings ff i, as shown. The circular openings in these rings, it will be observed, are of the precise diameter of a reamer, '/f', and polisher, il, which in performing thci i' work pass up and down within the rings. The reamer t" is simply a disk of sheet metal, say, one-eightli of an inchjin thickness, and the polisher il is in the form of a half-globe. The reamer and polisher are both securely ai,- fached to upright shafts Z3 ZL, which are supported-in brackets fastened to central beams, eZ d', as in Figs. 1 and 3. These shafts are provided with driving-pulleys, and are so fitted within their brackets as to rise under the action of foot-levers H H', as indicated in red lines in Fig. S. Rotary motion is communicated to the shafts Z3 and Z'L by means of a powerpulley, H2, in the rear, as shown in. last-named figure.

rljhe machine having completed asand mold, as represented in Fig. 5, the attending operator draws upon the cord a, thus elevating the rollers s from the face of the mold. rlhe flask C, with the mold therein, is then removed from the table p, and is placed in an inverted position beneath the disk L, the disk t being previously elevated to permit of this being done, after which, by :means of the hand-nut t, the disk t is brought down upon the fiask and mold, as indicated in Fig. 1. The operator thereupon places his foot upon the lever H, thus bringing the reamer t into action against the sand within the flask. The rotary motion imparted to the reamer through the power-pulley H2 at once causes the reamer to commence boring or reaming out the sand, and the pressure of the foot ofthe operatoris continued until the stop7 o strikes against the bracket o', thus arresting the further ascent of the reamer, at which time a half-globe opening or perforation will have been completed within the sand, as indicated in Fig. 3. This being done, the operator then transfers the flask from beneath the disk Z to beneath the perforated disk tf, and repeats the pressure of his foot upon the lever H', whereupon the polisher t7 is forced up Within the perforation in the sand made by the reamer, and so, by its rotary motion, polishes and compacts the face of the cavity formed by the reamer, thus iinparting a very smooth surface to the shot or shell when east. Vhile the lask is still beneath the disk t", a needle may be thrust through the perforations of the disk and into the cavity formed in the sand, thus providing air-vents for the mold. A perfect half-mold is thus produced by means of the machinery above described, and another half-mold having in like manner been made the two half- I'lasks are placed together, as indicated in Fio. (i, and secured in position in the usual manner, a sprue-hole, as at a', having previously been made in the ordinary way, as represented.

It is obvious that by varying the diameter ol' the openings of the rings 1i", and using a reamer and polisher of corresponding dialneter, cavities may be formed Within the sand mold suitable for casting large or small shot or shell, as may be desired, and for this purpose the means of attachment of the reamer and polisher to their respective shafts maybe such as to readily admit of their removal from their shafts and other reamers' and polishers substituted in their place. I am thus enabled rapidly and in a most perfect manner to pro` duce molds for shot and shell, the cost of production being the same Whether the mold be for large or small shot or shell. I Would here state that motion may be imparted to the pulleys Hz by merely extending the hopper-shaft in rear of the machine, and then gearing iro'rn such shaft to the pulleys H2, in the usual manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. Rotating the flask which receives the sand composing the mold While the sand is supplied to the ilask and is being compacted by one or more rollers, -for the purpose set forth.

2. Forming the Cavity in the mold within which the shot or shell is to be cast by means of a rotating reamer.

A rotating polisher iorlinishing the eavity formed by the reamer, for the purpose set forth. v

fitness my hand and seal in the matter of my application for a patent for improvement in machines `lor making molds for shot and shell this 15th day of April, A. D. 1862.

PETER L. VEIMER. [n su] XVi t1 iesses:

GUs'iuw Us Drn'rnmon, EDWIN S. Jaoon. 

